Escapes
by luv-me-some-whiphand
Summary: Dakota needed an escape. Is it possible that that escape could be a someone not a something? So, as you see I really suck at summaries, I hope you read it though! HowardxOC
1. Chapter 1

Dakota White wanted an escape. No, scratch that, she needed an escape. She needed to forget the death and the destruction. Basically everything about the whole "FAYZ" thing.

Even if it was only for a few hours, it was something. And she needed that something more than anything else.

She frantically searched the small, one-story house she was currently occupying for the bottle of liquid fire. "Where is it?" she muttered to herself. "Where the hell is it!" she screamed. She swore she had a half bottle left, just last night!

Dakota swept her small, blood-shot eyes over the filth that was her house, until they landed on a bottle of Smirnoff's. Her feet couldn't carry her fast enough to the release.

She hastily picked it up, only to find out something that made her want to cry. It was empty. Not a single drop left.

She threw the worthless bottle at the wall with all the strength she could muster, which wasn't much. The broken glass went everywhere, but she didn't care. The house was already covered in it, what difference would a little more make?

She knew she had to stop, that the vodka would eventually run out. But, she couldn't find the strength. No matter how hard she tried, she knew there was no stopping. Anytime soon, at least.

Right there, in a pile of broken glass, dirty clothes, and God knows what else, she cried. Cried for the hunger to stop. Cried for the FAYZ wall to come down. Cried for her mother. But more than anything, cried for her sister to come back to her.

She hated Sage for dying and leaving her in this living hell alone. Dakota had watched as the heartless demon, Drake whipped her to death. She wished she had taken her place. Sage had so much more to live for than her. Everyone loved Sage. She was perfect in so many ways. She was the only reason Dakota still had a reason to live. Why was she still living right now, anyways? She could make all the pain go away. It would be as easy as picking up a piece of the broken glass and… no, she couldn't do that. She knew she didn't have the guts to take her own life. She knew that sitting around moping all day wouldn't bring her sister back to life, but it was so hard not to.

She pushed the horrible memories to the back of her mind to have nightmares about later, just like she did every day, and put on a fake happy face, just like she did every day, so she could get stuff done. She knew the only way to make those nightmares go away was either to get high or drunk, too bad the pot ran out a couple weeks ago and she drank the last of the vodka last night. She had heard that someone was a running a black market, but the problem was finding out where it was.  
>So, she decided that would be her mission for today. Find the black market and get her release. She walked out of the house and looked around. This might take a while.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Dakota found it quicker than she was expecting to. All she had to do was ask a couple of fourth graders that were passing around a joint, where they got it from. As sick and twisted as it may be, young kids doing drugs wasn't uncommon these days. Hell, she had even seen a five year old drinking whiskey!  
>She couldn't really blame them, though. They were doing it for the same reason she was, to try to forget. Sadly, it didn't always work.<p>

She walked the short distance to the house the fourth graders had directed her to. It was a nice house, she had to admit. It was a big, sturdy built brick house that looked a little run-down ever since the FAYZ started, but it was in way better condition than her garbage filled house.

She knocked on the large, wooden door. No answer. So, she knocked again. Still, no answer.

She was sure this was the right house. But why would she trust a bunch of high ten year olds any- BANG! –way? What the hell was that? BANG! The noise sounded like it was coming from the backyard. BANG! BANG! BANG!

This was definitely not helping her hangover. She covered her ears with her hands and went to check out what was happening. She rounded the corner of the house and her mouth literally dropped open. A boy that was made of, what looked like wet gravel was beating the shit out of an old, rusty car. So, this must be the infamous Orc, she thought. She had heard kids talk about him. They called him "rock man", but she thought they were exaggerating. And they were definitely _not _exaggerating.

"ORC! Orc, man! You need to calm down!" Some boy screamed, though her view was obscured as to see who it was.

"I SAID, BEER ME!" Orc roared out. He was obviously on a drunken rampage.

"Orc! We're almost out, man! You need to calm down!" the voice said again.

**Howard's POV**

Orc was drunk again. Except this time it was worse. He was apparently pissed off that Howard wouldn't give him another beer. He was pretty much destroying everything he could find, he had already broke the kitchen table in half and beat the refrigerator to a useless piece of junk. Well, not that it wasn't already, they couldn't use it ever since that dumbass, Caine shut off the power at the power pla- BANG!-nt.

"Orc! We're almost out, man! You need to calm down!" he screamed out again, hoping he would listen this time. Although he knew it was a waste, there was no way that would happen.

"Please calm down, man!" Howard said, stepping closer to the drunken monster and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Please," he said, softer this time. They were both completely oblivious to the girl that's heart was slowly and agonizingly breaking behind them.

Orc turned to face him and Howard saw the look of sadness and despair in his best friend's eyes. He knew this meant the rampage was over. For now, at least. He knew this meant he was going to pass out. And soon. "Hey, let's get you inside. Okay?" Orc nodded and they made their way inside.

It was like this every day. Orc drinks. He gets drunk. He starts smashin' stuff. Howard tries to calm him down, and fails. Orc passes out. Repeat. Oh, the joys of the FAYZ.


	3. Chapter 3

Dakota knew it probably wasn't a good idea to bother them with her pathetic needs. It might cause that whole episode to happen all over again and her hangover definitely couldn't take that. So, she sighed and begrudgingly trudged the short trek back to the closest thing she had to a home.

She was not looking forward to it in the least. Without the vodka the night would be longer, the nightmares worse, and the crying harder. Plus, she was running low on 'Bertos, which meant she had a long, back-breaking day of picking cabbages tomorrow and she probably wouldn't get an ounce of sleep. Fun.

Sage would've been handling this a lot better than me, she thought. Hell, she'd probably even be running this whole FAYZ thing by now. Sage always did have a way with people, unlike Dakota. Dakota was never really a "people person"; they got on her nerves too easily. Sure, she would talk to them if she wanted something from them, but that was about it.

She never really liked the whole idea of going out to parties with a bunch of idiots that would do anything to make a "home run", if you will. She'd much rather be in the comfort of her real room with a book in hand and a Twinkie in the other (she always had been a big fan of Twinkies).

Wait… why wasn't she home by now? Her house was only a few blocks away…. She stopped and looked around to take in her surroundings. There was row after row of make-shift wooden crosses and a huge Willow tree that covered one in particular. She stared, confused for a moment. But then she concluded that she must have been subconsciously walking to Sage's grave while in thoughts of her.

She slowly walked up to the one that meant so much to her. It was basic. Just two pieces of wood nailed together in the shape of a cross with SAGE WHITE carved into it, thanks to Edilio. Something so simple yet can move her to tears just by one quick glance.

Something was different this time, though. A single dandelion sprouted up from where the mangled body of her sister lay. Sage used to love dandelions. Every time she would see one she would blow the white, fuzzy seeds everywhere and make a wish. Dakota never got why she would think that a weed could grant a wish, but she did it anyway. Sage had always said that there was something magical about them, and right now, Dakota could feel that magic.

She gently pulled the weed from its bearing in the soft earth, and wished. She wished for nothing but everything, if that makes any sense at all. She wished to remember and to forget. She wished for something that would mean so much to her and so little to everyone else. She wished for no more hurting. And as the last cloud of white dispersed into the unknown, somehow she knew. Somehow she knew that that would happen, that brought a smile to her face. A real, genuine smile, not the fake one she's been plastering on for what felt like centuries. And it felt good.

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><p><strong>Sooooo? How'd you like it? That was such a "Where the Red Fern Grows" moment up there. ^^ Haha. Anyways, sorry it took me so long to update, I've just been really, really busy! <strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry I haven't updated! I've been having writer's block. Bear with me guys, I know it's really boring so far, I promise it will get better! Without further a do, here is chapter 4!**

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><p>Surprisingly, that night wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. Don't get me wrong, it was definitely no picnic. She had the same nightmare she had every night, of course. Dakota didn't expect it to just magically disappear.<p>

The nightmare was of when she stood, paralyzed with fear, while her sister was helpless and dying. At that moment, so many things were rushing through Dakota's mind she didn't know what to do. She was so scared.  
>The only thing she felt now was regret and guilt. 'I could've saved her,' she thought to herself. 'Maybe if I had just distracted Drake for a few seconds, then Sage might've been able to… No.' She knew she wouldn't of been able to fend him off for even a second. It would've done Sage no good. Dakota was only a small, 13 year old girl, with absolutely no fighting skills. Drake was a tall, strong, guy with a freakin' whip for an arm, for God's sake! What was she supposed to do?<p>

Still, the guilt wouldn't stop eating away at her. At this rate, she'd be an empty shell by next week.

The thing that struck her as weird, though, was the fact that Sage wasn't the only thing she thought about. She couldn't help but to think about Orc's rampage and the boy she couldn't see, that had tried to calm him down. Dakota wished she was brave enough to do something like that. She was a spineless coward. A spineless coward who didn't even have the guts to take her own life.

She knew she had to stop thinking like this. It was getting her nowhere. Maybe she should pop a couple pills… might help her to calm down a bit. Maybe she could even get some sleep. She laughed at that thought. 'Yeah right. Since when do I sleep?' she thought.

She made a path through the garbage that filled her hallway into her bathroom that was equally dirty.

She opened the door she figured was the bathroom and stepped inside. It was small and cramped, but hey, at least it was something. Dakota blindly fumbled for the light switch before realizing it wouldn't work anyways. Stupid Caine just had to shut off the power and make life even worse than it already was, didn't he? She grumbled some very choice words and resumed her search for the handle of the medicine cabinet.

After an eternity, her hand latched on to what felt like the handle and yanked it open. Causing each bottle of medicine to fall into the ceramic sink with a loud CLANK! Great, just flippin' great. Now how was she supposed to find it? Times like this made her wish she actually had a Sammy Sun. She stuck her hand into the sink and felt a wet, gooey substance. She quickly pulled her hand out and let out a quick scream "Ewww! Ewww! Ewww!" She really didn't want to know what that was… But she really did need that medicine, though… She let out a frustrated sigh and begrudgingly trudged back to her bedroom. She climbed back into her lumpy, uncomfortable bed and pulled the scratchy, stiff sheets over her head.

Dakota didn't try to fool herself, there was no way she was getting any sleep at all tonight. She was pretty sure she was one of those people that couldn't sleep. What were they called? Insomniacs? Well whatever they were called, she was one of them. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually slept for a full night without aide from something. Whether it be just a couple of sleeping pills or pot. This was something she was all too used to by now, getting little to no sleep. It's been that way since even before the FAYZ started.

She ran her hands through her knotted and dirty, black hair in exasperation and started to sort through all the many thoughts in her frazzled, sleep deprived mind. There was no way she'd be able to pick cabbages tomorrow; she barely had enough energy to walk. But she really did need some more 'Bertos or else she would not only be without Vodka, she would starve.

Dakota decided she needed a new job. There weren't exactly a lot of jobs to choose from, and the other ones sure as hell wouldn't be better than picking cabbages. Maybe she could just skip tomorrow and use the 'Bertos she did have to go buy something to help her sleep so she could resume working the next day. Yeah, that was a good idea. She'd just have to find something really cheap to eat tomorrow.

She closed her ideas and began to reminisce about the times she didn't have to work her butt off just to get something to eat and the hardest thing she had to worry about was math. And her sister was there with her.


	5. Chapter 5

**YAY! Chapter 5 is up! SO, I hope this chapter isn't too boring like the other ones. It has Howard in it! So read, REVIEW, and favorite!**

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><p>The next morning, Dakota climbed out of bed and got ready extra early, despite how exhausted she was from getting no sleep. She groggily walked through the clutter to her bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like major crap. Her mid-length black hair was greasier than she had ever seen it before, her small, brown eyes were blood shot and had dark rings around them from lack of sleep, and her teeth weren't looking too great either. Of course, what do you expect from someone who hasn't slept or showered in a week? She grimaced at her reflection and decided it was about time to get cleaned up.<p>

Still half asleep, she put on her plain white swimsuit that contrasted with her Native American skin tone, and threw on her usual tomboy attire, basketball shorts, a random T-Shirt, and a pair of sneakers that were a little bit too small. But that was normal; everyone got dressed in what they could find. You were lucky if it remotely fit you. She quickly attempted to rake her fingers through her frizzy, knotted hair but gave up after her fingers got stuck in a particularly big knot.

She grabbed a towel off the floor and dragged herself down San Pablo Avenue to the beach. As soon as she felt the squishy sand between her toes she collapsed on her towel and started panting and wheezing as if she had just run a marathon, when in reality it was only a couple of blocks away. She took a quick breather and then stripped off her clothes to reveal her bathing suit and plunged into the salty water. The cool water felt good on her skin, even though it wasn't as cold as she would have liked, it gave her a new found burst of energy. She finished washing up hurriedly and walked back out into the sticky California air. Her skin felt salty and dry and her hair was probably really frizzy, but it was definitely better than before. She quickly redressed before anyone could see her in her swim suit and wrapped the towel around her hair. She was kind of self-conscious about her body now, well if you could even call it a body. She was scarily thin and you could see all of her ribs poking out.

Dakota decided that she should go get "the stuff" while she still had any energy left at all and then go find something to eat. She walked down the streets with a new found skip in her step with the thought that she might actually get some sleep tonight. She walked up to the doorstep and hesitated for a moment. What if it's that Orc guy that answers the door? And he's drunk again? She shook her head as if to get rid of the thoughts and knocked. She could hear heavy footsteps walk across the hall as the door opened. In the doorway stood a boy that wasn't much taller than herself. He was dark skinned and had dark brown eyes.

The boy raised his thick eyebrows at her and she was at a loss for words. What if this isn't even the right place? She inwardly scowled at herself for being so stupid and then asked, "Umm… Are you the guy? I mean… Is this? You know, the place?"

He just laughed and replied with a wink, "Place? Yeah, this is the place if you're looking for the stuff that's not exactly PG-13, if you know what I mean." She just nodded and the boy said, "Well anyways, C'mon the stuff's in the back." She immediately recognized the voice as the one she had heard the day before.

Dakota nodded again and stepped inside of the doorway. The inside was definitely not as neat as the outside, but it was still not nearly as bad as her own abode. They walked past what she guessed was the living room that had beer cans strewn everywhere and all of the furniture was either already broken or on the verge of breaking, they looked as if a boulder had been sat on them. Then she remembered Orc. "Duh!" she exclaimed and slapped her palm to her forehead. The boy looked at her quizzically and she felt her cheeks burn red. She wasn't used to being around people anymore. "Oh… Umm, sorry. I was just, umm… sorry"

The boy laughed again and said, "Well you sure are sorry a lot aren't you?"

"Uhh, yeah. Sorry."

They walked in an awkward silence for the rest of the short distance to the back door and she heard a sound coming from the backyard. It wasn't the loud BANG sound from before; it sounded more like talking and a whole lot of clattering. The boy didn't seem to notice so she dismissed it. They went to the back yard, where the beer can infestation continued. The noise was coming from a large shed. She could now hear what they were saying.

"Dude, I think I just heard the door open. What if it's Orc? He'll beat the shit out of us! We've got to go!" Someone said in a hushed whisper from the shed. Dakota didn't get why she could hear them if they were whispering, though.

"Calm down. You're just being paranoid! Grab that bag of weed over there, will ya?" Another kid replied in the same tone. How could she hear them?

"Can you hear that?" Dakota whispered to the boy next to her.

"Hear what?" the dark skinned boy replied.

"The people talking in the shed. Can you hear them?"

The boy looked at her like she was crazy, but she knew what she heard.

"C'mon! Let's go see!" she said as she grabbed the boy's hand and practically dragged him across the yard. It was kind of hard with him resisting and she was already weak as it is, so they were only halfway to the shed when two boys appeared out of the door with ski masks covering their faces,and they were carrying bottles of what looked like beer and small plastic baggies that she was all too familiar with.

As soon as the two boys saw them they bolted for the fence with the stuff they had just stolen. Dakota and the other boy raced after them, she used to be fast but she was too weak to run for that long. The other boy managed to catch up with them as they were hopping the fence and knocked out a couple of baggies from the slower boy's hand, but it wasn't much.

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" the boy yelled at the air. "I will get you back for those! You hear me? Orc will take you down, man!" he yelled another string of profanities and they went to go assess the damage.


End file.
